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Read about why sex toys are so popular in the U.S. and take a look at our list of must-reads that will have you chatting at the lunch counter, over IM or wherever it is that people actually talk these days.

Nearly half of all Americans use vibrators, a new study shows. The research, done by the maker of Trojan condoms, found 50 percent of women and 45 percent of men said they've used the vibrating sex toy on either themselves or a partner. Women who used vibrators also said they had better sex.

More than 750,000 fans who bought tickets to Michael Jackson's "This Is It" tour are now waiting for refunds. Complex legal issues that could take years to sort out means would-be concert-goers may have to wait that long to get refunded -- or they could simply keep tickets as souvenirs.

NASA will pull the plug on the solar spacecraft Ulysses today -- ending its 18-year mission. The probe is running out of fuel, which is understandable since its mission lasted three times as long as it was supposed to. It was launched in Oct. 1990.

The most goggled term in the porn realm is "Asian Babes." Westerners have long thought Eastern women have had a particular exotic sex appeal -- a concept that developed over five centuries of colonialism. Westerners' fascination with Asian sexual culture began in the 16th century when travelers happened upon Asian sexual culture in which sex was neither associated with both sin nor love.

A guard at Buckingham Palace accused of cheating his colleagues out of their life savings said his coworkers were running poker and porn rings while on duty at the Palace. The officer said the guards had an "easy life" and bought and sold porn and gambled.